The Backdoor to Hell
20. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.
21. Not every one that says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but those that do the will of My Father which is in Heaven.
22. Many will say to Me on That Day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name?” “And in Your Name have cast out demons?” “And in Your Name done many wonderful works?”
23. And I will profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:20-23
The Assumptions People Make
As humans, we are not only prone to mistakes, but we also make faulty assumptions that end up costing us in the long run. Brian Lee of a website called Lifehack listed a few faulty or misleading assumptions that people make. We assume if we ignore the problem it will eventually go away. We assume that other people have more than we do. We assume that we are right because we have thought about something logically and other people are just plain stupid. We assume that being in a relationship with someone automatically gives the right to tell them what to do. We assume that the grass is always greener on the other side. We assume that working someplace else is better than the current job we hold. We assume that if we take the risk nothing bad will happen. We assume that if we play that number, it will be the jackpot. We assume that we can get even with other people and that will settle the score. We assume that if you have seen one, you have seen them all. A big assumption is that if we just had more money that would solve our problem. Another big one is to assume that we will live a long time and be ready when we die. The big problem is that people think that there assumptions are true and that things will work out just as they have imagined. This is a common human flaw in thinking that can cause anxiety on one hand and can cost you your life on the other. The truth is: assumptions are just notions that will be tested against time. Sometimes the assumptions are right; but far too often they are dead wrong.
Assumptions can wrongly devalue people. Assumptions can over inflate our own ego and create pride. Assumptions can lead down the slippery slope of placing too much confidence in man-made formulas. Assumptions can cause us to miss out on some of the greatest opportunities that Heaven has to offer. The key is to not go on assumptions but have faith in God. God is your everything. He is life itself and your eternal hope.
An English preacher by the name of Charles Hadden Spurgeon wrote about a “backdoor to hell” where devils drag the hypocrites away to their place of doom on the day of judgement. Spurgeon used a description previously noted by the author John Bunyan who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress. They both noted that people assume that they know God and wait too late to verify their assumption. This prompted my attention and caused me to realize that there are people who assume that their souls are safe based on information they have believed. This actually reveals the worst assumption of all and that is to assume that we know God, when God does not know us. How tragic!
Thank God, Jesus gave this as both a prophecy and a warning. Matthew 7:21-22 states, Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them … Not everyone that says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but those that do the will of My Father which is in Heaven. Jesus warned that many will not enter Heaven. He also gave notice that you could know by examining the fruit. Let’s unpack these verses in order to discover the truth about those who will enter Heaven and those who will not.
The first thing we notice is that doing God’s Will is the determining factor for those who enter Heaven and not religious appearances. Why didn’t the “many” simply do God’s Will? The answer is that they assumed they were doing God’s Will. They did a couple of things that made their religious practices look valid. They called God by the right Name. For that reason, they are different from the fool who refuses to acknowledge God but says in his heart – there is no God. For that reason, they are not your ordinary brand of sinners. They are not the brazen kind who murder, steal, commit adultery, lie, cheat, abuse themselves, and slander others. These are very religious people and for that reason, you would not expect them to “bust Hell wide open.” No, they got there by the backdoor. In other words, it is not what they did – it’s what they didn’t do that got them into Hell. Well, you say, “isn’t calling God by the right Name enough?” Not according to Jesus because they never got to the place where they obeyed God’s Will. They assumed that if they said God’s Name loud enough and often enough (notice the double-pronunciation) that would do the trick. Instead, they got tricked and found themselves at Hell’s backdoor. How tragic!
Looking Good to Cover Up Sin
Another thing we do as humans is to appear to be good or do good. Jesus warned that this could mislead people into false praise. Our Lord went on to say that we should do our good deeds before God and not before men. This group that consisted of multitudes did their work to impress others and they assumed that God was impressed. Notice their plea. Many will say to Me on That Day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name?” “And in Your Name have cast out demons?” “And in Your Name done many wonderful works. This is an impressive resume and yet it did not have the spiritual clout to get those who did these things into Heaven. They preached in God’s Name. They spoke the Truth of God. They told people about God but did not know God themselves. Not only that, but they also cast out demons in Jesus Name. That’s powerful. And to top that off, they also did MANY wonderful works which is a reference to miracles. So, why didn’t that get them through the pearly Gates of Heaven? If you look at the verses carefully you will see a couple of things that flawed their good works. First, they gave themselves credit for using God’s Name. The human side of that would be like taking someone’s credit card and charging it to the max and then bragging about the stuff you bought. The truth is, we can do nothing without God so why brag about what we did when we knew it was God doing the work. Not only did they not give credit to God, but bragged about the work as their own, they also did the good work for the wrong reasons. They did not preach so that souls could be set free. They did not cast out demons so that people would be restored. They did not work miracles for the benefit of those who needed miracles. They did all that for one big “religious show.” Ladies and gentlemen, the Grace of God is not cheap. We should never seek to put God’s power on display as if it was a circus or some entertainment act. Salvation and prayer for God’s deliverance is serious work both for God and for the people who will be benefited. It does not glorify God when we are counting how many people got blessed by our ministry. It makes people look good. For that reason, Jesus said, pray in secret and don’t let your right hand know what the left hand is doing. If we do those things for public attention, we have our reward already and there is no reward from God. So, these folk used God’s power for personal gain and thought they could just waltz into Heaven with their resume. That is when Jesus informed them they would not be entering Heaven. How tragic!
The Great Pretenders
Why the back door to Hell, why not the front door? These were the kind of people who didn’t want others to know their other side. While they were religious and put on a show, they also liked the “backdoor way of living.” Too many people have listened to Clarence Carter’s ‘Back-door Santa.’ Too many people have been influenced by Johnny Taylor, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Snoop-Dog, and a bunch of other artists. You claim you love Jesus, so you play praise music on your way to Church. But when you leave Church, you get back to the hip-hop, the country, and the R & B. People love to pretend but they don’t want to let others know they are pretending.
You have folks who pretend when it comes to lifestyles. During the daytime, folk will look as if they are angels, but at night they change up into what they call “something more comfortable.” That’s why some folk wait until the crowd gets low before they go in to buy their lottery tickets. That’s why some folk wait until the liquor store almost is ready to close before they go in to buy their libations. People love to pretend. Notice how Jesus addresses the crowd of pretenders. And I will profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity. Jesus never knew these folks. They never were introduced to the Holy Spirit. They never met God in prayer. They never met God in His Word and found out that if you taste of the Goodness of God, that will change everything in your life. Not only did the crowd of folks not know Jesus, but they had also worked iniquity. This meant they were good at doing wrong because they practiced it and had it down to the tee. How tragic that the pretenders will end up at the backdoor to Hell!
But when you have walked with Jesus, you can’t pretend anymore. He knows every step you take and will correct you when you step wrong. This is the Good News for the Christian and a warning for those who know that they are pretending. Jesus longs to know you and have fellowship with you. He does not want you to enter Hell through the backdoor. He longs for you to walk into Heaven and be able to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” So, in order to avoid the backdoor to Hell, here are a couple of take-a-ways.
First, never take God’s Will for granted. Just do as God leads you and you are guaranteed to meet the Lord in Glory. The first thing about listening to God is to hear Him calling you into a new life in Christ Jesus. God wants that for you and longs for you to know His Gift of Salvation. Second, stay humble as you serve God. Keep a low profile and never seek to gain status and recognition of men. If something is done that is good and involved you, give God ALL the Glory. Lastly, get to know God by asking Him questions about who He is. He will tell you and you will be delighted to know Him. He really is a Rock in a weary land. He really is that Shelter in the time of storm. But more than that, God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He really does want to walk with you and talk with you all the way to Heaven. So, let Him lead you.